Hello, I have started to get interested in doing some studio shots and was wondering about studio lighting. What would be a good piece of lighting to start off with that would have the widest application? I've thought about a camera mount flash, but then I saw some of the studio "kits" in B&H for like $200-300. Are these worth the price?

Looks as though a lot of people speak pretty highly of these lights. Do you own a set? If so, what size do they compact down to? Reason I ask is because i'm currently living in an apartment and space is a little cramped, would they fit under a bed?

My speedotron lights pack up very nice. I have not played around with a lot of other lights, but these are fairly small. I got a hard rolling case and store the 3 lights, cables, reflectors, and stands in it. I then have a small soft bag with the power pack, grids, slave cables, and a couple of other reflectore. It goes into the corner of the closet.

Studio lighting can be a lot like buying tripods. Unless you start at where you need to be you keep buying up. With that in mind, if you have a photography shop close, go there and see about renting a lighting setup for a few days and see if it fits you needs and get and idea if it will fit your needs in the future.

For the record, I mentioned that I saw him on ebay and amazon. However, I pointed you directly to the website. The ebay and amazon reference was so that yo9u could spend some time and actually look at feedback from people that had purchased the muslin backgrounds. You can then make a decision on whether they sound like something you would like.